REBEL UNDERCOVER

As the Forgotten Five investigate President Daniel Fuerte’s plans to build an army of supers, the reappearance of their criminal parents continues to complicate matters in this sequel to 2022’s The Invisible Spy.

Reeling from Cabot’s decision to rejoin her parents, who are coerced members of President Fuerte’s supers criminal gang, the rest of the Five—Birdie, Brix, Seven, and Tenner—grapple with their friend’s perceived defection. Is Cabot (whose latent powers have started appearing) now a baddie? But other storms arise. Following the public unmasking of President Fuerte as a super, protesters from around Estero storm the presidential palace. The surprise announcement of a presidential run by Magdalia, Seven’s AWOL mom, also threatens Fuerte’s bid to retain power. As the presidential race gets heated, stalwart ally Lada preps to infiltrate the presidential palace by going undercover as a recruit for Fuerte’s army, a risky move that’s deadlier than the group realizes. Meanwhile, The Librarian’s enigmatic actions begin to raise the Five’s suspicions about their once-reliable spy mentor. Like a well-oiled Saturday-morning cartoon, McCann’s series continues to feature boisterous superpower hijinks and lighthearted espionage with dabs of engrossing familial melodrama. The political shenanigans remain deeply, endearingly silly, and the author does a fine job of maintaining high stakes as the plots get knottier and the twists even dizzier. Another doozy of a cliffhanger swoops in at the end to carry willing readers into the following installment.

Fantastically silly fun!